Good or bad? It's hard to tell.
Good or bad? It's hard to tell.
How certain are you?
Getting fired is bad right? Maybe. Landing that dream job is great, right? Maybe. It's hard to tell what something will lead to. I've been fired exactly one time. It seemed like a bad thing. But, it led to me starting my first marketing agency that we grew and sold to another agency, which took me down the path I'm currently on, doing work that I love.
There's an old Taoist parable about a farmer whose horse ran away. "How unlucky!" his brother tells him. The farmer shrugs. "Good thing, bad thing, who knows," he says. A week later, the wayward horse finds its way home, and with it is a beautiful wild mare. "That's amazing!" his brother says, admiring the new horse with no small envy. Again, the farmer is unmoved. "Good thing, bad thing, who knows," he says. A few days later, the farmer's son climbs up on the mare, hoping to tame the wild beast, but the horse bucks and rears, and the boy, hurled to the ground, breaks a leg. "How unlucky!" his brother says, with a tinge of satisfaction. "Good thing, bad thing, who knows," the farmer replies again. The next day, the young men of the village are called into military service, but because the son's leg is broken, he is excused from the draft. His brother tells the farmer that this, surely, is the best news of all. "Good thing, bad thing, who knows," the farmer says. The farmer in this story didn't get lost in "what if" but instead focused on "what is."
Shetty, Jay. Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day (p. 58). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.
Only time will tell if some events are good or bad for us. Though we assign values immediately when things happen, this may be a mistake. Instead, we need the patience to wait to see how things work out.
Great reading from this week
Your character is how you help people that can’t help you
I never thought about mask-wearing as it relates to character. I appreciated this take on it.When your filter bubble works too well
This article has an interesting take on what happened with Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert) this week.Protect Your ‘Thinking Time’ if You Want to Stay Productive
I’ve known “thinking time” is needed for years, but I’m terrible about carving out that time for myself.The Minimum Viable Day: Stop Being Overwhelmed by Your Task List
I LOVE this idea of creating a minimum viable day. That means the minimum required to consider a work day a good one. I think I will work on this one and see what I can come up with.
Want to get to know me a bit better?
I was recently interviewed on a podcast, and it’s one of the most fun and entertaining interviews I’ve had. In the interview, we covered the following:
How I got started in nonprofit work
Inspiration from my parents to help others
How 48in48 started w/ Jeff Hilimire
Why not to start a nonprofit
Tech Talk Y'all’s origin story w/ Sanjay Parekh
How I used a podcast to land my largest client, creating the Real Pink podcast
How Edgewise.Media (my podcast agency with Sanjay) got started
Why saying yes to opportunities is important to growing your career
Book recommendation
Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World By Scott Harrison
If you haven’t heard of Charity Water or looked at their marketing, take a look now. They may be the best-marketed company I’ve seen (aside from Apple). They are the benchmark if you want to learn about messaging, storytelling, etc.
My Podcasts to check out
Tech Talk Y'all - My tech/comedy news podcast.
Real Pink - I host the national podcast for Susan G. Komen. If you want some inspiration or information about breast cancer, give it a listen.
While Daring Greatly - My podcast.
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